By the Light of Luna - Chapter 1: Power is Happiness
by IanHominem
Summary: AU where Luna is the good princess. Celestia goes mad with power.


_Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects—all the different types of ponies._

But as time went on, the elder sister became obsessed with power.

**Chapter 1: Power is Happiness**

Princess Celestia, the eldest alicorn and ruler of the sun, reveled in the attention that she received from the citizens of Equestria. They would throw festivals in her honor during the spring and summer, praise her goodness during the autumn harvest, and make offerings to her in the winter to ask for a fun, nonviolent winter. Princess Luna, the younger alicorn and ruler of the moon, never minded all of the attention that her sister received. In fact, she preferred it. Luna had always been shy and humble. She knew that the ponies of Equestria praised her with their dreams and that was enough attention for her.

Celestia began to think that the energy she spent performing her duties outweighed the praise she received. She began to think that the ponies were ungrateful, that they felt obligated to continue the traditions year after year and were not sincere in their actions.

One day, Celestia decided to hold the sun directly over the small town of Ponyville. This caused the temperature to rise to uncomfortable highs and the plants to all wither and die from too much sun and not enough water. The hay that the ponies relied on as their main source of food, their bedding, and building material caught on fire. They begged for Celestia to stop. She heard their cries and laughed.

"How dare these peasants ask me to control my powers?" she thought, "they never appreciated me enough and now they must face my wrath!"

Upon hearing the citizens scream, Luna awoke from her daily slumber. She flew over to her sister. With her strong, regal voice, she banished her to spend eternity in the sun. Celestia was not amused that her little sister was trying to control her as well. They pointed their long horns at each other and the tips began to glow. Celestia shot Luna with a powerful beam of light, knocking her backwards.

The ponies of all of Equestria were watching the skies. Upon seeing their beloved moon princess injured, they went to her aid. The pegasi took to the skies, moving the clouds from all of the evaporated water towards the oceans and stomping a huge downpour into the slowly calming waves below. The unicorns created a shade of darkness over the land, now that the sunlight was distracted. The earth ponies near the oceans stampeded in an attempt to resurrect the waves. The sea ponies below used all their might to move the water back and forth to assist the earth ponies.

The power of the moon grew stronger and Luna rose to her hooves. A midnight black beam shot from her horn, hitting Celestia in the chest and knocking her backwards several miles onto her back. Luna quickly flew as a shadow towards her sister, horn still glowing. She used an intense gravitational force to hold Celestia down.

"I cannot excuse the crimes that you have committed towards not only me, but the innocent residents of the land of Equestria. From this day forward, sister, you are banished to the sun for all eternity! I call upon the powers of the universe to hold you prisoner to your own star! You shall be stripped of your powers and the sun shall be controlled by me now!" Luna roared.

Celestia evaporated into a ball of light, which instantly retreated towards the sun. Luna's horn began to glow with a white light. The light soon surrounded her body and shot out of her eyes. Exhausted, she collapsed and began to fall towards Equestria. The fastest flyer of all pegasi, Rainbow Dash, flew to her rescue from Cloudsdale, the city of pegasi. She decided to take Luna to Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Surely, the Canterlot doctors could revive Luna.

Rainbow Dash carefully set the princess on the ground. The unicorns of Canterlot decided that Princess Luna needed a place to live on Equestria until her strength returned. They quickly combined their powers to create a castle overlooking the city. Rainbow Dash flew Luna to the castle and laid her in her new bed. A long-horned unicorn stallion with a white coat, suave golden mane, and a red plus sign for a cutie mark entered the room.

"Ah yes, the infamous Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria. I am Red Cross. I will take care of her from here." He reassured. Rainbow Dash bowed her head towards him and zoomed out of the window, returning to her home in Cloudsdale.

That night, all of the Canterlot earth ponies and pegasi held a vigil for Luna while the unicorns banded together to take care of the night. They sang:

_Thank you, Princess of the Night!_

_Thank you for your sacrifice._

_When you start to open your eyes,_

_We will cheer with delight!_

* * *

Note:

Italicized opening of this chapter is directly from Season 1, Episode 1 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The last line (not italicized) was edited for this story's purpose. I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Hasbro owns the copyright to My Little Pony including all the names (except the original character Red Cross) used in this story. "By the Light of Luna" is strictly a fanfiction with no intentions to be published for any monetary gain.


End file.
